


East of the Sun, West of the Moon

by uchihaotakuhime



Category: Bleach, ichiruki - Fandom
Genre: Bleach - Freeform, Bleach Fanfiction, Bleach Manga - Freeform, Bleach fanfics, F/M, I die and cry for IchiRuki, I die for IchiRuki, IchiRuki Month, Ichigo - Freeform, Ichiruki, ichiruki month 2020, ichirukimonth2020, irmonth, irmonth2020, kuchiki rukia - Freeform, kurosaki ichigo - Freeform, rukia - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:20:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25790479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uchihaotakuhime/pseuds/uchihaotakuhime
Summary: IchiRuki. Lyrics prompt: If You're Not the One by Daniel Bedingfield.
Relationships: IchiRuki - Relationship, Kuchiki Rukia & Kurosaki Ichigo, Kuchiki Rukia/Kurosaki Ichigo
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	East of the Sun, West of the Moon

**Author's Note:**

> IchiRuki Month 2020 on Tumblr, Day 8: East of the Sun, West of the Moon.
> 
> _I don't wanna to run away, but I can't take it, I don't understand  
>  If I'm not made for you, then why does my heart tell me that I am?  
> Is there any way that I can stay in your arms?_
> 
> _'Cause I miss you, body and soul so strong that it takes my breath away  
>  And I breathe you into my heart and pray for the strength to stand today  
> 'Cause I love you, whether it's wrong or right  
> And though I can't be with you tonight  
> You know my heart is by your side_
> 
> “Tell me the [story](http://ashleekrammes.com/blog/the-story-of-the-moon) about how the sun loved the moon so much he died every night to let her breathe.” 
> 
> _For the ships that didn’t become canon but had canon development. IchiRuki will always be my favorite hero/heroine/main characters manga ship._

It’s been ten years and Ichigo thinks he can’t remember the last time he’s been this happy. 

Except he does and it was the last time he had seen her.

His wedding, the birth of his son -- it barely pains him to even admit it to himself. Nothing had ever come close. 

With every major milestone in his life that had gone by without Rukia, he had fleeting thoughts about how she would feel _if_ , what she would think _if_ , what she would say _if_ , how she would react… _If_ she was here. 

And how happy the moment would actually be if he could share it with her.

But now she _is_ here.

The sun shines bright, and though he tries to hide his excitement behind his signature scowl, his heart is soaring. 

They finish greeting their friends and family, and the party starts. The house is a crowded, raucous mess, but it feels full for the first time in years, with happy laughter and jokes, sounds of merriment, and food and drinks all around. 

It is probably inevitable that she would accidentally spill something on her dress. She sighs, but brushes it off, stating she’ll just clean up upstairs in the bathroom, and Yuzu offers her a change of clothes. She shakes her head and gets up from her seat on the floor next to Karin as the rest of their guests are distracted by their champion friend on the television.

She traipses up the stairs, fitting in naturally like it was old times, and her fingers seem to almost caress the handrail of the staircase lovingly, lost in thought.

Ichigo can’t help but to follow her, and they turn the corner into the hallway.

He catches her by the hand, and her eyes widen almost imperceptibly as she turns to him, their hands together a perfect fit. And in an instant, the vulnerability that they had carefully guarded for ten years drops and their faces share the same expression. Her breath catches and it sounds almost like a sob, like she had been trying so hard to keep herself together this entire time and at any moment she may fall apart.

But they find that they are unable to pull away, and without thinking, their fingers entwine, like two puzzles clicking back into place where they belonged. Their hearts had been calling out for each other, confused at being separated for so long, and now that they are together again, they sang once more, beating together in perfect rhythm, in perfect harmony. 

How easily they still orbit around each other like it is the most natural thing, like the sun and the moon that they are. Except with a planet, a whole world, keeping them apart. 

She had saved him so many times and changed his whole life. He could always stand in confidence when she is by his side. He could save the world over and over again just because she gave him that strength, and he swears he isn’t afraid to die if she would be there to share his last breaths and his last moments with him. Would he even be where he is if it wasn’t for her? Would he be the person he is without her?

Anyone in his life could tell him that, and the answer is no. 

And he is not himself without her. 

He doesn’t even realize that he had missed her so much that it hurt to breathe. Everyday reminds him of those seventeen months she had been gone, and there are nights he would wake up and his pillow is wet with tears. There had been emptiness before her and emptiness after. Only she could fill that space and his life is never complete.

Ichigo thinks of family, of what a family should be, and he thinks of his family. He thinks of his mother. His father, his sisters. Of Rukia. Of how she immersed herself seamlessly with his family, how his father called her his third daughter, how his sisters adored her. 

And now, he had his own family, but it just...didn’t seem right. 

Not without her. 

And then his mind would drift and he would see the images in the deep corners of his mind of a daughter with her temper and her violet eyes and hair as bright and orange as his. But he would blink, and it would be gone. And then reality would sink in and he would be shrouded in despair and darkness once again.

And he supposes he should feel guilty, but he doesn’t.

Because when he thinks of her, he thinks only that he loves her, and he should have told her before it was too late.

Can he let her go again? Does he want to? Would he feel even the slightest bit of shame if he just gives everything up, gives up the balance, the security and safety of this world just to be with her? He had always been distant and detached from his wife, his family, his career, his life -- his eyes always searching, heart yearning. Like he wasn’t made to be in this world, and always had meant to be in hers.

In her life, with her. And her, in his life. 

Her name is a never-ending chant in his head, as if his body and soul were calling for her, so used to her presence and thrown into shambles once she was out of it. It had softened to a dull roar in the back of his mind, but it is deafening now that he sees her again. _Rukia, Rukia, Rukia!_

His light.

Who had entered his dark world once again, so he could see past the heavy rain clouds in the unlit night to the beauty of the moon herself, and he could finally lift his heavy head.

_Rukia._

“Rukia,” he says, his voice desperate. 

He realizes then that he had just been staring at her, holding her hand and grasping it like a lifeline. She’s looking up at him with those eyes, and he wants to touch her hair, wants to take her face in his hands and pull her close to him and tell her _Stay_ , or _Take me with you_ , or _Finally_ , or even -- _I love you_. 

( _Don’t say it_ , her pleading, pained eyes warn, or she may crumble too.)

He could only imagine how his own face looks. “Fool,” he hears affectionately -- a whisper -- as she shakes her head, squeezing him softly, and she pulls her hand away with a slight tremble, putting distance between him.

But she smiles at him then, and she says his name, like a sigh of relief, like an answer to all the questions in his head,

And, whether it’s wrong or right, he knows that he’ll love her for all of his life.


End file.
